Enjoy the water and waves with the beach wheelchairs available at selected beaches across South Africa
Updates have been made to the original article published in the Issue 4 of 2024.
There is nothing quite like a beach day on the sand with crashing waves and a salty breeze under a baking sun. Getting onto the beach, particularly when there is loose sand, can be a challenge or completely impossible for people with mobility impairments or the elderly, especially when using a traditional wheelchair.
Fortunately, there are several beaches across South Africa that have beach wheelchairs that are specifically made for going onto the sand. Some can even be taken into the water.
In most cases, these chairs are free to use and don’t require any booking. With most, you simply need to enquire at a restaurant or with the lifeguards on duty. Many of the chairs can’t be removed from the beach and you might be restricted to using the chair with the lifeguard’s supervision.
This is beneficial as the lifeguards can take you into the water and ensure your safety while in the waves. We’ve compiled a list of some of the beaches that have beach wheelchairs available. Please note that this is not a comprehensive list. We will continue to add to the list as we learn of more or new chairs available.
Cape Vidal Beach (St Lucia)
Bushbaby Safaris Zululand, along with The Little Bushbaby Company, have beach wheelchairs available to rent. These chairs can be taken into the ocean. Pre-booking is essential. The chair can be collected or delivered to your accommodation in St Lucia.
It is R475 per day to rent the chair for one to three days, and R425 per day if you rent the chair for four or more days. You can contact Larni on 060 615 2746 or Katie on 076 585 2619, or send an e-mail to beachwheels@bushbabysafaris.co.za to book the beach wheelchairs.
Amanzimtoti (Durban)
Wheels on Waves has made a beach wheelchair available at Amanzimtoti Beach. The chair is free to use and available at the lifeguards during official lifeguard hours.
If you need assistance or would like to enquire further, you can reach out to Wesley from Wheels on Wave at 082 802 1349 or Reece from Rolling with Reece at 064 880 0834.
Southbroom
There is a beach wheelchair available in Southbroom at the Granny Pools. The chair is free to use, aside from a small R100 deposit, and doesn’t require booking.
The wheelchair is stored at the Riptide restaurant under lock and key. It can be collected during the restaurant operating hours, which is daily from 11 AM to midnight.
On paying your deposit, you will be given a key that allows you to collect the wheelchair. On returning the chair and key, you will receive your deposit back.
If you are planning on visiting another beach in the area, you can book a beach wheelchair at a daily rate. You can contact Anne at 082 896 7814 for more information or to book a chair.
Gonubie Beach (Eastern Cape)
There is a beach wheelchair available at the lifeguards at Gonubie Beach from 8 AM to 3 PM daily. It is free to use with no booking required.
Humewood Beach (Gqeberha)
A beach wheelchair is available for free at the lifeguard tower during official lifeguarding hours.
Kings Beach (Gqeberha)
Only a few kilometres away from Humewood Beach, another beach wheelchair is available for free at the lifeguards during official lifeguarding hours. There is no booking required.
Kabeljauws Beach (Jeffreys Bay)
The Quadriplegic and Paraplegic Charitable Trust of South Africa (QPCTSA) secured a beach wheelchair for Kabeljauws Beach. The chair is at the PiliPili restaurant, which is open from 8 AM till 9 PM daily. There is no booking required, however, you do need to complete a disclaimer form.
It is worth noting that the chair isn’t fitted with buoyancy aids; therefore, it might not float when in deeper waters. Ideally, the chair should be used on the sand and shallow waters.
Dolphin Beach (Jeffreys Bay)
There is a municipal beach wheelchair available at the lifeguards at Dolphin Beach during official lifeguarding hours. There is no fee or booking required, however, use of the chair is supervised by the lifeguards on duty.
Myoli Beach (Sedgefield)
The QPCTSA also acquired a beach wheelchair for the Myoli Beach, which is stored with the Sedgefield branch of the PiliPili restaurant. Similar to the Jeffreys Bay chair, no booking is required and the chair is free to use.
Donations are welcomed as this will help with maintaining the chair. The restaurant is open from 8 AM till 10 PM daily. This chair is also better suited for the sanded areas or shallow waters.
Santos Beach (Mossel Bay)
This pristine Blue Flag beach has a beach wheelchair available during the festive season (1 December 2024 till 31 January 2025). The chair is available at the lifeguards, but booking is encouraged.
“The Mossel Bay Municipality strives to make beach experiences accessible to persons with disabilities. For this purpose, a special beach chair has been obtained in 2022,” the local municipality states.
“Members of the public wanting to use the beach chair are requested to make arrangements with the lifeguards on duty at Santos Beach. It is advisable to book the beach chair in advance, if possible. Enquiries can also be made to 044 606 5000 or send an email to admin@mosselbay.gov.za.”
Struis Bay
A beach wheelchair is available at the offices of Dr Deon Venter. The chair is free to use although donations to help fund the upkeep of the chair are welcomed. The chair can be collected during official office hours, which is 8 AM to 5 PM from Monday to Thursday, 8 AM to 12 PM on Fridays and Saturdays with the offices closed on Sundays.
If you would like to make use of the chair outside office hours, you can make arrangements. While booking (during office hours) isn’t required, it is encouraged. The team can be contacted on 028 435 7654 during office hours and on 081 042 2652 outside of official hours.
Grotto Beach (Hermanus)
A municipality beach wheelchair is available at the lifeguards at Grotto Beach during official lifeguarding hours. There is no fee and no booking required. The chair can be used to swim in the ocean.
Muizenberg Beach (Cape Town)
There is a beach wheelchair available to use for free at the Muizenberg Beach. Visit the lifeguards during official lifeguard hours to enquire. This chair is adapted to go into the water. Please note that there are planned renovations for the Muizenberg beachfront that will start in Februay 2025 and carry on into 2026, which could impact beach access.
Continued Accessibility
While doing our research for this article, we spoke to several people to confirm the process of booking the chairs. We are grateful to everyone’s contribution, particularly the individuals who have made it a personal mission to create better access for their community.
If you would like to secure a beach wheelchair for your area, you can look to the community of Hermanus as inspiration. Karin Coetzee, owner of Disabled Travel explains that the first chair was a joint effort of the community and municipality.
The community raised half of the funds, which the council then matched. It was so popular, that the municipality bought a second chair. With her personal experience in what accessibility truly entails, she notes: “All blue flag beaches should have a beach wheelchair.”
“The blue flag beaches need to have an accessible bathroom. However, the point of going to the beach is getting onto the sand. An accessible bathroom is not enough to create an inclusive experience,” Karin shares.
To our knowledge, floating beach wheelchairs are not manufactured in South Africa. They need to be imported. There are locally manufactured beach wheelchairs that can go onto the sand and into shallow water. The chairs secured by QPCTSA for Jeffreys Bay and Sedgefield were made by Mobirider.
We would like to continue expanding our list of beach wheelchairs in South Africa. If you have any information on a chair in your area, please let us know at rollinginspiration@qasa.co.za.
